Alter ego

Actor

Samantha "Sam" Arias (born 1979) is a former KryptonianWorldkiller known as Reign, who was sent to Earth prior to Krypton's destruction. She was found by Patricia Arias, who raised her as her daughter. As an adult, Samantha briefly became the acting CEO of L-Corp before transitioning to a position as the CFO, though she still partly held the former position on the behalf of her employer, Lena Luthor. Samantha is the single mother of Ruby Arias and a good friend of Lena, Alex Danvers, and Kara Danvers. Samantha remained unaware of her origins until her powers started to manifest, leading to the emergence of one of the strongest adversaries Supergirl has ever had to face.

After Purity and Pestilence awoke, Reign noted that her human self Samantha was much stronger than she thought as they fought for control.

After defeating Reign, Samantha and Ruby have moved to Metropolis, where Samantha is the CEO of the city's L-Corp division.

Contents

Biography

Early life

She is the leader of the Worldkillers, a race of Kryptonians designed by the Children of Juru through advanced genetic engineering and powerful dark magic after centuries of research.[1] The coven heralded her as "Reign", Krypton's deliverance by the Juru. Reign was the subject of an ancient prophecy in which the Worldkillers paved a new order in accordance with the Juru's ancient beliefs about the dark goddess Yuda Kal.[2][3]

Samantha as a baby sent off to Earth.

On the day of Krypton's destruction in 1979, the Children of Juru placed the baby girl in a Kryptonian escape pod and sent her to Earth, preaching that she would grow strong there and then reign over the planet.[4] The infant was sent along with two other neonate Worldkillers, who would awaken and join her in her quest once she was ready.[5]

After presumably remaining in stasis for 10 years, her pod landed on Earth around 1989.[6] The girl was discovered by Patricia Arias, who took the baby in and raised her as her own daughter, Samantha Arias. Unaware of her alien heritage and oblivious to her destiny, Samantha believed she was a normal, adopted human.[1] Growing up on Patricia's farm, Samantha had a happy and loving childhood. She shared a strong bond with her adoptive mother, who would take Samantha swimming on Mondays and Wednesdays.[7] From a young age, Samantha was a driven and outstanding student, having won numerous awards for her studies and other activities.[8]

Samantha repeatedly drew the sigil of the Worldkillers' creators.

Despite her upbringing, Samantha would later realize she always felt "different" from her peers, which was chalked up to her adoption.[1] As she grew older, Reign's malevolent nature began surfacing; when Samantha was 10 years old, she started repeatedly doodling the sigil of the Children of Juru. While Samantha was fascinated with what these symbols could mean, Patricia was terrified; she tore up the pictures and grounded Samantha, forbidding her daughter from sketching the symbols again. In retaliation, Samantha drew the sigils over her bedroom walls, which Patricia covered up. Samantha was implied to have exhibited multiple such urges growing up, and Patricia's attempts to suppress them led to tension between mother and daughter.[8]

When she was 16, Samantha became pregnant and was subsequently kicked out of the house by her adoptive mother. Hurt and resentful over Patricia's abandonment, she resolved to raise the baby on her own. Unbeknownst to her, Samantha's pregnancy also delayed her manifestation into Reign.[1] Upon the birth of her daughter, Ruby, Samantha was awed by the new life she brought from within herself and into the world. She vowed to always be there for her newborn child, no matter the odds. Experiencing various ups and downs after having Ruby and raising her without a father, Samantha nevertheless pulled through by herself as a single mother once graduating school from to one job and city to the next to ensure that she and her daughter would have a future together. At the same time, Samantha worked hard to fulfill her aspirations of becoming a businesswoman.[2][6]

Lena Luthor, Samantha's friend and boss who would help her in more ways than one.

Samantha would later be acquainted with Lena Luthor when Luthor Corp acquired the company the former worked for as a Junior VP. One night, Lena found Samantha in her office completing cross-analysis reports at 3:00 am, practically alone, and was impressed at once with her unshakeable resolve and dedication to her occupation. This led to an exclusively professional, but friendly working relationship between the two women and Samantha subsequently ascended positions upon the establishment of L-Corp.[7][9] Samantha and Lena wouldn't regard each other as legitimate friends until much later on.

The Unveiling

Sam's powers begin to awaken.

Samantha attended the Supergirl statue unveiling by Lena Luthor at the National City waterfront with her daughter, Ruby. When Ruby bumped into Alex Danvers, Samantha halted and made her properly apologize. She and Alex then briefly discussed the former's raising of her daughter, with Samantha slightly dreading the day Ruby would become a teenager. As Lena presented the statue, a powerful tremor suddenly started. During the confusion, Samantha and Ruby were separated and a metal tower collapsed, pinning Ruby to the ground. As Samantha rushed to her daughter and screamed for help, she somehow lifted the enormous, heavy beam by herself. Samantha and her daughter then watched in awe along with the rest of the onlookers as Supergirl lifted the attacker's submarine out of the water.

That night, Samantha experienced a nightmare of a woman in a meadow transforming into a hideous monster. She bolted awake, disturbed.[10]

Working at L-Corp and new friends

Samantha insists she saved Ruby due to adrenaline.

A week later, Samantha drove Ruby to school and while they waited in the car, she reminded her daughter that Mrs. Queller would pick her up today; Sam would be busy with meetings, as it was her first day of her new job at L-Corp, for which she expressed excitement over the opportunity. Ruby then questioned Sam on how she managed to lift the metal tower at the waterfront by herself. Sam explained that it was nothing more than an adrenaline rush caused by seeing her daughter in danger, which happened to a lot of mothers. Ruby was skeptical but Sam insisted her daughter would understand when she has kids of her own.

Later that morning at L-Corp, Samantha prepared for her first meeting as she took a call regarding the status of the company's upcoming deals in the wake of her stepping in. Suddenly, Sam's business affairs were interrupted by a concerning notification from Davis Middle School; upon arriving, Samantha was informed by Principal Coburn that Ruby had been in a fight with another student, Stephanie Harrison. Sam was taken aback upon learning Ruby physically attacked Stephanie, as her daughter had never been in such trouble before. When Coburn asked about her home situation and Ruby's father, Sam grew tense, pointedly stating that Ruby's father isn't in the picture.

Samantha and Ruby talk about her actions at school.

At home over lunch, Samantha asked her daughter what happened. Ruby revealed that she punched Stephanie because the latter called her a liar for claiming that her mother had superpowers due to Sam rescuing her at the waterfront. In disbelief, Sam protested that she didn't have powers. Ruby refused to accept that her mother was able to lift a heavy metal tower due to adrenaline, causing Sam to yell at her daughter. Apologizing, Sam tried to convince Ruby to let this go but her daughter walked off, much to the former's disappointment.

That evening, Samantha was seen talking to Lena over the phone about her earlier absence, assuring that the day's meetings and presentations would be completed tomorrow and thanking her boss for her patience. Sam received a delivery pizza and went to Ruby's room to get her for dinner, only to find her daughter gone. Concerned, Sam messaged Ruby, asking where she was. After Samantha searched the entire house, Ruby eventually texted her location at Stilton Pizza, asking that her mother come save her. A worried Sam drove to the city block and found her daughter in the midst of an attack by Psi, with Ruby deliberately walking into the havoc. Moments before the pair were crushed by a malfunctioning wrecking ball, Supergirl rescued them and Sam immediately took her daughter to safety.

Sam and Ruby talk after the attack.

As they recovered in an ambulance, Samantha and Ruby met up with Alex again as she came to check on them. Sam gently scolded Ruby for her recklessness, pointing out that if the former did have superpowers, she could've immediately swept her daughter away from the danger. Ruby then inquired whether or not Supergirl has a job as a normal person outside of heroism. Sam realized that Ruby wanted her to have superpowers so that she wouldn't have to work, just save people and spend time with her. Sam assured her daughter she will always be the most important one to her, no matter what.

Later that night, Samantha arrived at CatCo Worldwide Media to meet up with Lena, thanking her boss once more for understanding her domestic plight. Sam also met Kara Danvers, unknowingly (and very ironically) meeting Supergirl herself in her civilian persona at her workplace where the two of them shared the same boss. Lena revealed that she hired Sam to be the acting CEO of L-Corp while the former adjusted to her new business in an editorial. Before Lena, the two Kryptonians (each completely ignorant of the other's true alien nature) shook hands in welcoming gesture, completely unaware that this friendship forged between the three of them at that point would be one fraught with many extraordinary and unexpected challenges worth remembering, from within as well as beyond.

Samantha is somehow unable to bend the crowbar.

At home, Samantha watched Ruby sleep, safe and sound. She unwinded from the eventful day with some wine and late night reading. When one of the lamps downstairs went out, Sam searched for a spare light bulb at her house's garage and found a crowbar. Remembering what her daughter said and deciding to test her lingering suspicions, Sam tried to bend it. However, she failed to even make a dent in the crowbar despite her best efforts. Slightly embarrassed, Sam dismissed the thought as she grabbed a bulb and returned to the house.[11]

Samantha attended one of Ruby's soccer games and proudly cheered her daughter on from the sidelines. She took a call during the game regarding a merger that would be carried out between L-Corp and JQB. As a result of the discussion, Sam missed Ruby scoring a goal. A woman walked up to Sam and asked which child was hers. Sam pointed her daughter out, briefly joking that Ruby didn't receive her coordination from her. When Sam asked the woman about her child, the woman suddenly preached that Ruby and Sam were "special" and "chosen" before handing her a pamphlet for a meeting. Confused, Sam asked for her name, to which the woman cryptically introduced herself as "a follower" and asked her to come to their community. Unnerved, Sam forced a smile and thanked the woman.

Samantha agrees to celebrate with Lena and Kara.

Later that afternoon, Samantha met Lena and Kara at L-Corp, explaining her late arrival due to attending Ruby's soccer game and taking her team for victory ice cream afterwards. She then informed Lena that the JQB merger should be finalized soon and handed her boss the papers to sign. Kara and Lena invited Sam to girls' night at the former's home to celebrate her first authorized merger. Sam initially declined but after being pressed a little more by both Lena and Kara, she agreed to attend. Kara came upon the flyer Sam received at Ruby's soccer game and asked her about it. Sam told Kara what happened, believing the giver probably wanted to invite her to some "self-help meeting" (unaware of her innate connection with the true nature of the flyer's symbol), and agreed to let Kara take the pamphlet.

Samantha at Girls' Night.

That night at girls' night with Lena, Kara, Alex, and Maggie Sawyer, Samantha drank some wine as she listened to Lena recount how her date rejected her when he found out she wasn't Catholic. Sam then asked Kara about her relationship status, and was saddened to hear that her boyfriend had "moved away". When Alex wondered if Ruby's father was still in the picture, Sam quickly stated that it was just her and Ruby. Alex was impressed with Sam's ability to raise a daughter on her own, to which Sam admitted that it wasn't a graceful process, something Alex and Maggie would experience when they have kids. Alex and Maggie informed her that they weren't going to have children and were just going to be the cool aunts. Kara and Lena also volunteered to be cool aunts for Ruby, much to Sam's elation.

Samantha is too busy to help her daughter

The next day at L-Corp, Ruby asked her mother to help her practice her song for an upcoming school recital once she finished her homework. Samantha apologetically explained she was too busy and tried to suggest other means through which Ruby could occupy herself in the meantime. An employee then entered the office and informed Sam that Morgan Edge filed an anti-trust lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to impede the company's merger with JQB. Sam immediately worked to resolve the issue, much to her daughter's disappointment.

Samantha laments to Lena her struggle to be both a CEO and mother.

That night, Samantha entered her office to find Ruby asleep on the couch and despondently placed her own jacket over her daughter as a blanket. When Lena entered, Sam confirmed she got the FTC to dismiss Edge's complaint and the JQB merger was finalized. Lena congratulated her but Sam suddenly began crying, apologizing for being unprofessional. She confided in Lena about failing Ruby due to being too busy with work to help her daughter practice her song and felt like "the worst mother". Lena pointed out that she actually had "the worst mother" and assured Sam she's doing just fine by a mile from Lillian Luthor. Lena pointed out that Ruby fell asleep watching her mom work hard, knowing that it was only Sam who could be relied upon to meet L-Corp's corporate expectations (which will serve the company and its employees well in the long run), and that is how one raises a girl to be a badass — by letting her understand the world at her own pace while always being there to make sure that she makes the right choices in terms of perspective. Sam smiled in appreciation.

Later at Ruby's school recital, Samantha was pleasantly surprised to see that Lena, Kara, and Alex came to support her daughter, thanking her new friends. As Ruby came up on stage to sing, Sam quickly took some pictures and proudly watched her daughter's performance.

Covered in strange symbols, Samantha cowers in fear from a sinister woman in her bathroom.

At the end of that night, Samantha ran a bubble bath and took some medicine. When she looked in the mirror, Sam suddenly found herself covered in strange symbols, much to her horror. She then heard whispering and turned around to see a sinister, cloaked woman towering before her, causing Sam to cower on the bathroom floor in terror. The woman eerily preached that Sam was born from Rao's fire and would soon "reign". Just then, Ruby arrived and called out to her mother. Sam saw that the woman and symbols had suddenly disappeared.[12]

A few days later as Samantha dropped her daughter off at school, Ruby expressed concern about what happened in the bathroom the other night. Sam brushed it off as migraine and told Ruby it was time for school. After her daughter got out, Sam was preparing to pull away when Ruby's friend, Luke, collapsed onto the ground and started seizing. Sam immediately rushed to Luke and Ruby's side while calling 911.

Sam meets Lena and Kara at the hospital.

Samantha accompanied Luke and the paramedics to the Luthor Family Children Hospital, where she met with the boy's mother. Sam hugged the woman in comfort, worried for Luke's health. Moments later, Lena and Kara arrived, surprised to run into Sam. She explained the situation, revealing that Luke was amongst the many children in the city diagnosed with lead poisoning. Sam also condemned Morgan Edge's stunt to pin this on Lena and watched from a distance as Lena and Kara confronted the man.

Sam and Kara discuss Lena's role in the lead poisoning epidemic.

Samantha then joined Lena and Kara at CatCo to discuss whether or not Lena's lead bomb designed to stop the Daxamite invasion was responsible for the children getting sick. Sam refused to believe Lena was guilty but the latter wasn't so sure. James Olsen joined the room and recommended that Lena step down from CatCo, which she agreed to, going further to say that she was stepping down from L-Corp as well. Sam tried to protest this but Lena stated it was the best decision to prevent accusations of company bias.

At a press conference, Samantha stood off to the side and showed her support for Lena. Suddenly, an angry mother open fired at Lena, causing panic within the crowd and wounding James. Sam jumped off of the stage and laid on the ground until the shooter was apprehended by security.

Sam encourages Lena to accept her hospitality.

After the conference, Lena stayed at Samantha's house for the time being. Initially reluctant, Lena expressed that she didn't want to put Sam and Ruby in danger, but Sam assured her friend that she will be safe as the shooter was in custody, advising Lena to relax in the meantime. Lena pressed that Sam could have been shot as well and shouldn't be hiding her, but Sam pointed out that Lena gave her a break when she needed one the most and now, she wanted to return the favor. After witnessing Ruby helping with her accommodations, Lena agreed to stay for one night, much to Sam's satisfaction. When Lena wondered if she would still be her friend if Ruby was sick, Sam didn't have an answer.

Samantha and Kara find a connection between the sick children.

That night, Samantha returned home from work to find Lena passed out on the couch and Kara still there, having arrived earlier to check up on Lena. She thanked Kara for staying and the two reflected on how the situation is taking a toll on Lena. Offhandedly veering the subject to the restless nights that they have both been having and sensing kinship within one another (oh, they have no idea...), the two women banded together to investigate the lead poisoning. Using the information gathered by Kara and L-Corp's medical team, they tried to figure out if there was a pattern with the affected kids, but the victims were scattered. Sam decided to follow a lead on finances for the children's parents, pulling them up from on laptop in a matter of minutes, impressing Kara. The two noticed that all the families bought food during Octoberfest at Frances Park on the same day, and wondered if something the children ate made them sick.

Samantha and Kara investigate a public pool.

Samantha and Kara went to the park, finding many rides and food vendors. Suggesting that whatever afflicted the children were indoors, Sam tried opening the door to a community pool but found that it was locked. When she wasn't looking, Kara broke the door open, covering the deed up by claiming it was just a "sticky hinge". As they entered and began looking around, Kara remarked that Eliza, her adoptive mother, used to bring her somewhere similar every Tuesday and Thursday. Surprised, Sam revealed that she was adopted as well and would go swimming on Mondays and Wednesdays. As they walked past the pool, Sam remarked how Ruby, like nearly every child, loves swimming. Kara took a water sample and electronically sent it to her friend Winn Schott at the "F.B.I.". for analysis. Sam and Kara were relieved to hear that Lena's lead bomb wasn't responsible but became horrified when Winn revealed that the pool was contaminated with a chemical that mimicked the symptoms of lead poisoning. Sam and Kara then found several barrels from Acre Lee Chemical containing the said compound being kept in a storage cabinet.

Samantha, Kara, and Lena affirm their friendship.

The next night after Lena was rescued by Supergirl and had her name cleared, Samantha held a mini-celebration at her house with Kara and Lena. She confirmed that the antidote L-Corp synthesized for the ill children were working, much to everyone's relief. Sam and Kara toasted to their teamwork. Lena thanked the two for believing in and standing by her throughout this ordeal and the three women happily embraced.

Samantha realizes the bullet didn't hurt her.

Once Lena and Kara left, Samantha tucked Ruby into bed, assuring her that Luke was going to be fine, and they expressed admiration for Sam's new friends. Ruby pointed out a hole in her mother's shirt, much to Sam's confusion. She bid her daughter goodnight and headed downstairs to the kitchen, where she shook out her jacket and discovered a crushed bullet inside. To her shock, Sam realized that she had indeed been shot and checked her side. However, she wasn't wounded and the bullet had been flattened upon impact with her skin.[7]

Discovering her true identity

Samantha submerges her hand in boiling water and isn't burned.

Several weeks later, Samantha was at her kitchen one evening preparing pasta for dinner while immersed in the doubt of whether she had powers or not. In order to test her suspicions, she secretly slipped her hand into a pot of boiling water. Much to her surprise, Sam didn't feel any pain and her hand wasn't even phased by the water's temperature. Sam then sent Ruby to a friend's house for dinner as she prepared to investigate the situation.

Samantha drove to her adoptive mother Patricia Arias' home for the first time in 12 years. Over tea, Patricia tried to make conversation with her adoptive daughter, but they ended up having an argument. Sam was angry at her adoptive mother for kicking her out and refusing to lend any support when she had Ruby whilst Patricia maintained that she did what was best for her. When asked why she had even come, Sam wondered if she did anything strange growing up, such as lifting heavy objects or not sustaining injuries from bad falls, which Patricia denied. Sam then asked for any information on her birth mother, but Patricia dodged the question. Upset, Sam started to leave, but ended up recounting to her adoptive mother what happened at Lena's press conference and tearfully revealed how she didn't feel a bullet hitting her. Sam demanded the truth, terrified about what was happening to her.

Patricia reveals to Samantha the pod that brought her to Earth.

Shocked at this, Patricia led Samantha outside to a shed and showed her an extraterrestrial pod. Patricia revealed that she found Sam, helpless and scared, as a baby in the pod, but didn't know who left her in it or why. Patricia explained she planned to tell Sam the truth when she turned 18, but the latter had left by then due to her pregnancy. Confirming that she was an alien, Sam examined the side panel of the ship, which caused the pod to turn on and a beacon emerged on the front. Sharing a meaningful glance with her adoptive mother, Sam grabbed the beacon, instantly deducing the crystal was the key she had been looking for.

The next morning, Samantha prepared to go on a road trip to follow up on the mystery of her past. She arranged for Mrs. Queller to stay with Ruby and left money for takeout. Sensing her daughter's worry, Sam explained she recently discovered something special about herself, which will answer a lot of questions, and she needed to take this trip to get those answers. Sam promised to tell Ruby everything once she returned. Before leaving, Sam happily expressed to her daughter that "something wonderful is happening".

Samantha took the beacon she found from the pod and followed its light signal out into the middle of the desert. However, her car broke down that afternoon from hours of driving, forcing her to continue on foot. Beginning to doubt this endeavor, Samantha nevertheless continued tracking the beacon's signal and eventually arrived in the middle of a clearing leading to a vast and eroding desert. All of a sudden, the ground shook and spikes of crystalline rock emerged from the ground to form a huge structure. Sam watched in amazement as she cautiously entered.

Inside, Samantha found a console panel and, following a hunch, placed her beacon inside, causing it to activate. A holographic projection emerged and welcomed her. Sam, recognizing the projection as the same figure she had seen her in her dreams, asked who she was. The projection responded that it was "science, magic, information" and a "friend" to her. Sam wondered what this place was, and the projection explained it is the Fortress of Sanctuary, a piece of Sam's home from the dead planet Krypton. Familiar with the tale of the destroyed planet from what was commonly known concerning both Superman and Supergirl's extraterrestrial origins, Sam was shocked to discover that she indeed had powers and was a Kryptonian like Supergirl. The hologram stated she was more than that; Sam is a genetically-engineered being designed on Krypton to "execute justice". Feeling her hopes rising, Sam believed this meant she was destined to become a hero, but the hologram proclaimed that mankind would not see her as a hero; she was a Worldkiller, one who would dispense justice without mercy and cause Earth to burn.

Samantha's eyes glow red as she receives the memories of "Reign".

Horrified, Sam rejected this instantly, protesting she was a good person with life on Earth and had a daughter. The hologram coldly stated that Ruby was an "error" which delayed the full manifestation of Sam's powers, much to the latter's anger. In spite of Sam's objections, the hologram promised that she would eventually forget about Ruby and all of her other "mortal trappings", as it was time for her to fulfill her true purpose as Reign. Sam suddenly began screaming and doubled over in agony, her powers forcefully awakening. She suddenly stopped, opened her eyes, and raised her head in a calm, almost peaceful manner as she stood up. When Sam looked forth, her eyes flashed a bright red and she eerily stated, "I have awoken" in ancient Kryptonese.[1]

The rise of Reign

The next morning, Samantha experienced a "nightmare" of soaring through the dark night while burning red beams of light into the ground. She woke up with a terrified scream, prompting a worried Ruby to enter. Trying to calm down and catch her breath, Sam apologized for scaring her daughter. Ruby asked about her trip yesterday, but Sam found that she had no recollection of the past couple of days, including visiting Patricia and discovering her origins. Sam realized it was 11:00 am and she had slept in. Proclaiming that it was "pancake o'clock", Sam and Ruby rushed downstairs to the kitchen to make chocolate chip and banana pancakes.

Kara tells Lena and Samantha she's grateful for their friendship.

That night, Samantha and Ruby attended Kara's Christmas party, for which Sam brought cookies. She arrived late and frazzled due to being held up with Christmas shopping and an L-Corp conference call with Germany. Alex entertained Ruby with stories of Supergirl, to which Sam silently, yet gratefully thanked her friend before having a drink. A slightly concerned Lena mentioned she looked a little pale, but Sam insisted she was just worn out from managing her new corporate responsibilities (unaware that Reign had worked overtime the previous night). Sam and Kara then started teasing Lena about the connection between her and James, which Lena denied. Kara then expressed how she was happy to have them as her best friends, to which Lena and Sam returned the sentiment.

Sam and Ruby reflect on their best Christmas.

The next night on Christmas Eve, Samantha was working at L-Corp when she saw the news reporting a fatal shooting at a convenience store carried out by the One-Seven Gang, which angered her and began to trigger Reign. Ruby then came in, asking when they could go for dinner. Sam sadly explained she still had work to catch up on and called Mrs. Queller to pick Ruby up. Her daughter was upset by this, but Sam cheered her up by recalling a previous Christmas that she and Ruby had spent on the road while moving to Central City, which turned out to be a fun day, since they had each other. She then gave Ruby her Christmas present: a necklace with the Supergirl symbol. Stating that the symbol means “stronger together”, Sam assured Ruby that was how they are together as mother and daughter — stronger.

Later, after Ruby left, Samantha was taken over by Reign, who brutally murdered the members of the One-Seven Gang.

Samantha heard about an assassination attempt on Lena and rushed to CatCo to check on her friend. Lena assured Sam that she was fine and revealed Morgan Edge was the perpetrator, though she didn't have any proof. Enraged at this, Sam looked at the picture of Edge, coldly stating that he should be dead for what he tried to do as Reign took over. The Worldkiller attempted to kill Edge in retaliation, which later led to a battle with Supergirl. Reign won the battle, after which Samantha arrived home.

Samantha on Christmas Day.

The next morning on Christmas Day, Ruby came downstairs looking for her mother, happily announcing that it was Christmas. Samantha was staring outside the window, dressed all in black with her fingers twitching on one hand. When Ruby called for her, she swiftly whirled around.[2]

Two days later, Samantha and Ruby had a nerf-gun battle inside their house with the former, due to her lack of coordination (and perhaps still rearing from her strife with Supergirl), sending a picture of her and her daughter crashing down. As Ruby prepared to go hang out with a friend, Sam's eyes fell upon the printed news, seeing the battle between Supergirl and a rogue Kryptonian (herself). After Ruby left, Sam's eyes flashed red and Reign took over, beginning to wreak havoc all over National City.

Sam presumably returned home from Reign's rampage in time for dinner with Ruby.[5]

Samantha, Ruby, and Kara visited Alex, who was recovering from a leg injury (inflicted by Reign), in her apartment to drop off comfort food. Sam, who had to go out of town for a business trip on L-Corp's behalf, found out that Mrs. Queller cancelled on watching Ruby for the day. Alex volunteered to do so instead, which Sam happily agreed to. She was next seen talking to Lena at L-Corp in the CEO's office, with the latter giving her some last minute instructions for her meeting with a prospective business. Samantha promised satisfactory results for her boss and the two hugged. As soon as Lena left, Sam heard a menacing voice whispering Kryptonese before her eyes flashed red and Reign emerged.

When Reign was attacked by Psi's psychic wave, the resulting effect came into a clashing conflict with the Worldkiller's dictated programming and Samantha's worst fear surfaced: visions of herself losing grip of a crying and distressed Ruby, who vanished into eternal darkness. This forced manifestation caused Sam to briefly emerge back into control, panicked and sobbing. Looking around, Sam was unsure as to how she got to where she was (or what she's wearing). Her gaze fell on Kara, whom she recognized in her alter-ego persona. Kara, in turn, expresses concern for her, but before the superheroine and her allies could help Sam, Reign quickly regained control and fled.

Samantha realizes she missed her business trip.

Later, Samantha returned to Alex's place to collect Ruby. As her daughter waited outside at the elevator, Alex inquired about Sam's work trip, throwing off the latter, as she did not leave for such. Recalling having said earlier that she did indeed have a business trip, Sam checked her phone and saw multiple texts, emails, and missed calls from Lena regarding the fact that she failed to show up for the said trip. Distressed, Sam revealed to Alex that since around Christmas, she's been sporadically having blackouts with no memory of where she went or what she did once she comes to, much to Alex's worry. Sam pleaded for Alex to help her, realizing something (...or rather someone) was inherently wrong with her.[13]

Afterwards, Samantha made her excuses to Lena and L-Corp for the botched trip, claiming her adoptive mother was at the hospital.[6]

Confessions and sisterhoods

After Alex's leg healed, Samantha and Alex headed to one of L-Corp's medical research labs; Sam used her company clearance to allow Alex to medically examine her there, as she didn't fancy doing so at a hospital. As Sam prepared for an MRI, she voiced her worries to Alex, having researched her symptoms and realized her ailment could be potentially fatal. Alex promised whatever the result was, they will deal with it together. Sam then prepared for the scanning procedure.

Alex helps Samantha.

Later, the two of them examined the MRI's scans from a monitor. Alex noted that she couldn't find anything wrong from the preliminary tests — hinting that the problem isn't anything rooted from within the recipient — and proposed that they send the images and a sample of Samantha's blood to an expert. Sam lamented on how much she's had to lie to Lena of late about work because of her condition, to which Alex suggested telling the truth about her current predicament. Sam protested that she doesn't want to become a burden to her loved ones and has been handling things on her own since becoming a teen mother. As Alex drew some of Sam's blood, she recognized the latter's worries all too well and opened up, understanding how hard it can be to let people in, but stated that the only way she's getting through her heartbreak over her breakup with Maggie is by letting her sister help her. Finally conceding, Sam agreed to talk to Kara and Lena later that day. Satisfied, Alex gave her a lollipop as a reward.

At CatCo, Samantha came clean to Kara and Lena about her blackouts and apologized for not telling them sooner, as she is used to taking care of herself. Sam tearfully expressed her fear that Ruby would be all alone if something happened to her since she is all her daughter has. Kara, Lena, and Alex pointed out that they're also Sam and Ruby's family and consoled Sam, vowing to be there for the both of them no matter what, much to Sam's joy.

Samantha thanks her friends for their support.

Later, the four of them converged at Kara's apartment as Alex received Samantha's medical results. Alex reported that all the test results came back clear and Sam was "healthy as an Olympic athlete", much to everyone's relief. Sam was puzzled and anxious about what could possibly be wrong with her then, but her friends urged her to revel in the good news that the worst possibilities have at least been eliminated. Sam thanked Lena, Kara, and Alex for their support before leaving to spend time with Ruby.[6]

Lena urges Samantha to take it easy for some time.

Sometime afterwards at L-Corp, Samantha discussed a performance issue with TYK Labs on the phone when she found Lena in the CEO's office. Lena claimed it's been a while since she focused on L-Corp's affairs, but an affronted Sam correctly guessed it was because she was sick and wondered if her boss believed she wasn't fit to run the company anymore. Sitting her down, Lena reflected on the night they met and how she admired Sam's focus and hard work. Assuring her friend that everyone is well aware of her capabilities as a businesswoman, Lena explained just wants to make sure Sam doesn't have a lot on her plate until they can figure out how to deal with her illness. Sam then agreed to take the day off to be with her daughter.

Samantha and Ruby prepare to go ice skating together.

Samantha picked up Ruby from school, having texted her beforehand that they will be going ice-skating. When Ruby wondered what the occasion was, Sam simply explained that it's been a rough couple of months and she misses her daughter, so they will be spending the day together to remedy that, much to Ruby's excitement. At the ice rink, Samantha and Ruby happily raced around and down their path. Suddenly, Reign took over Sam and swiftly left, leaving Ruby alone.

Samantha is horrified after having a blackout in front of Lena.

Hours later, a frantic Samantha went to see Lena at L-Corp, inquiring about her daughter. Lena assured Sam that Ruby is safe at her apartment and revealed she knew about her mother's blackouts. Believing Lena divulged her illness to Ruby, Sam furiously scolded that her friend doesn't have the right to make those kinds of decisions for her family. Lena attempted to explain that Ruby figured it out her own and the former simply reassured her they were looking into the matter but Sam, panicked and angry, refused to listen. Lena tried to ask her some questions about the blackouts but Sam menacingly yelled, "Silence!". She turned around and threateningly faced Lena, with Reign beginning to emerge. Perplexed, Lena called out Sam's name and saw her eyes glowing red. Sam snapped out of it and fell into a chair, horrified at having triggered a blackout. Lena comforted Sam, saying she knew what was wrong and promised to "make [her] better".[9]

The Revelation of Reign

Lena studying Samantha's condition.

Samantha was moved to a classified L-Corp laboratory, where she was placed into a medically-induced coma so Lena could run tests to monitor the changes in her body.[14]

Three days later, Samantha was awakened from her coma. Lena informed Sam the studies revealed that during the latter's blackouts, her body transforms on a cellular level into the Kryptonian supervillain Reign. Sam was incredulous, unaware of her alien ancestry, so Lena showed her that Reign's activities coincided with the timeline of each of Sam's blackouts. However, Sam remained in denial and tried to leave and see Ruby, only to be blocked by a force field Lena placed around her medical cell, much to her shock.

The next day, Lena again tried to talk with Samantha, who protested that she would never commit Reign's violent crimes. Lena explained that Reign is a separate entity with rewritten DNA — essentially a split personality — whom Sam has no control over. Hurt and in disbelief over what she was hearing, Sam claimed that Lena only diagnosed her as a supervillain due to her nature as a Luthor, offending her friend.

Samantha watches footage of herself as Reign.

Later after Lena returned from a meeting, Samantha begged to return home to her daughter. However, Lena refused and bluntly stated that Sam should remember on some level how it felt to attack Morgan Edge, Supergirl, and the One-Seven Gang due to the sheer brutality of those confrontations, bringing up televised coverages of the attacks. Lena accused her of being a "monster" who only pretended to love Ruby, threatening to make sure Sam never saw her daughter again. During Lena's tirade, Sam grew increasingly stressed and enraged, eventually cumulating in Reign emerging. As this occurred, Samantha blacked out and found herself in a sunny meadow, which quickly transformed into a dark forest.

Lena comforts Samantha after the truth is revealed.

After Reign was suppressed by a dose of Kryptonite, Samantha regained consciousness in her now-wrecked medical cell. Lena showed Sam video footage of their argument, revealing how Reign had emerged from her person and destroyed her surroundings with alien powers. Forced to face the revelation that she is Reign, Sam was horrified and devastated, guilt-ridden over the people she hurt and killed, and broke down in tears. Lena comforted Sam, assuring her that it wasn't her fault and now that she has a sample of Reign's DNA, they can combat the situation.

Samantha called Ruby, lying that she had to stay in the hospital due to an illness and her daughter couldn't visit at the risk of catching the ailment, so Lena would check on her in the meantime. Sam promised Ruby that she would recover soon, telling her daughter how much she loved and missed her before hanging up, crying. Sam then made Lena promise to keep Ruby away from her until she was completely cured of Reign's influence.[15]

Fighting the Worldkiller

Lena forcefully awakens Reign.

After studying Reign's DNA, Lena explained to Samantha that a specific enzyme may be triggering the former's transformation. In order to isolate it, Lena warned Sam she needed to stimulate her pain receptors by using electric shocks to bring Reign out, as they don't have time to come up with an alternative solution. Sam agreed, determined to be rid of her Worldkiller half for good. As Lena delivered the first round of electricity at 500 volts, Sam screamed in pain for a few seconds before being transported to the Dark Valley again as Reign emerged. In the dark forest, she came face to face with the physical manifestation of her alternate personality. The Dark Kryptonian ominously warned Samantha, "they are coming for us".

After regaining control, Samantha told Lena about her encounter with Reign in the Dark Valley, which was no longer in her head. Lena deduced that the Dark Valley was, in fact, a parallel dimension where Sam's mind goes whenever Reign takes over, which was why Sam retains no memory of her Worldkiller half's actions; Reign was now manifesting in the dimension at the same time as Sam since the former's subconsciousness was being suppressed. Sam revealed Reign's foreboding message and Lena, unsuccessful in identifying the enzyme, decided to amplify her efforts by increasing the voltage. Sam reluctantly agreed.

Reign offers Samantha a chance to merge.

Samantha once again found herself meeting Reign in the Dark Valley. The Dark Kryptonian attempted to convince Sam to stop Lena from "breaking [their] body" by urging her to surrender to her Worldkiller half. Reign claimed Sam would have a new, powerful life and offered an end to the pain and nightmares she was struggling with. Horrified, Sam forced herself to awaken and take back control. Distressed, Sam refused to go back to the Dark Valley, terrified of facing the embodiment of the darkest shadows of herself, insisting there had to be another way to fight Reign. However, Lena pointed out that unless they finished the trials, Reign would take over Sam forever.

After taking some time to gather her bearings, Samantha underwent another electric shock. She attempted to hide from Reign this time but was quickly cornered. Refusing to back down again, Sam defiantly rejected Reign's offer, deeming the Worldkiller to be nothing more than a "cancer" who will be stopped by Lena and herself. Enraged, Reign began choking Sam. In retaliation for her refusal, Reign threatened to burn Earth to the ground along with everyone on it, especially Ruby, whom she vowed to grant a brutal, painful end. Sam screamed in terror as she returned to the real world.

Lena promises to save Samantha and Ruby from Reign.

Frightened for her daughter's life, a tearful Sam suggested Lena contact Alex or Supergirl for help to defeat Reign, but Lena knew the government might treat Sam as a criminal until her split personality could be eliminated. Lena assured Sam that Ruby was safe, swearing to never let Reign hurt her. The two friends then embraced.

Just as Samantha learned that Lena isolated Reign's enzyme, she was taken over by her alternate personality once the three Worldkillers united.[16]

Splitting Apart

After being exposed to an ancient Kryptonian rock, mixed with her blood sample by Lena Luthor, Reign separated from Sam and became her own person while still connected to Sam's life force. As Reign grew stronger, Sam became weak and sick. This led to the discovery that Reign and Sam's level's of strength had an inverse effect. Sam used this discovery to venture into the Dark Forest and find a fountain of strength, aided by the spirit of her late mother, Patrica Arias. After drinking from the well, Sam grew strong, possessing Kryptonian powers while remaining her own person. With her new powers, she aided in the defeat of Reign. With Reign's destruction, Sam was happy to find out she no longer possessed Kryptonian DNA and was now fully human.

Sometime after Defeating the Worldkillers, Samantha and Ruby left National City and moved to Metropolis, where they were later visited by Lena. Sam began managing L-Corp Northeast and has made two acquisitions that were already turning a profit at the time of Lena's visit. She was also coaching Ruby's soccer team.[17]

Personality

Samantha in her civilian persona.

Although Sam is a single mother, she does her very best to support her daughter, Ruby, who is the most important person to her in the world.[11] She is very nice and caring, and has a motherly air to her. She has a high intellect, and has enough business knowledge to run L-Corp flawlessly. She is also a very strong woman, loyal to those closest to her (i.e. Lena Luthor) besides her own daughter, responsible to a fault, quite sociable and can hold her own in mental battles against businessmen, such as Morgan Edge or even against Reign - Sam's subliminal worldkiller side - whom the latter, for a time, was able to even talk back at, with impunity, during some of her visits into the mental plane that the two of them share when Lena's experimental trials, aimed to suppress the Sam's malevolent alien aspect, somehow brought Sam and Reign there at the same time.

According to Reign herself, Sam's character is stronger than her world killer persona initially dismissed - expressed by Sam taking cumulatively longer periods of control over herself and, in turn, increasingly suppressing Reign to keep her from emerging for just as long in the process, causing her to occasionally miss out or be late on summons sent out to her by the hologram from her Fortress - hinting a substantial sense of individuality on the part of Sam. And after the world killer went up against Psi, it was seen that Sam's greatest dread would be to lose her daughter, Ruby, for good. She later affirms to her closest circle of friends that she fears the thought of Ruby losing her mother and thus be left alone by herself in the world just as much.

Upon Lena realizing Sam's hidden World killer nature and bringing it up to the latter, complete with evidence - both circumstantial and trial-based - that Lena collected to back up her own suspicions on Sam's disturbing condition, Sam was instantly in denial at the very thought of how a (seemingly) normal and frail human like herself could be anything like the near-unstoppable alien zealot terrorizing criminality and even brutalized Supergirl in the wake of her inhumane vigilantism, and with Lena maintaining her claims to her employee's extraterrestrial identity, a perturbed Sam accuses her employer of only thinking so because assuming the worst of people, such to the point of actually doubting their humanity, is what Luthors (apparently) and ultimately do, making Lena herself no different to the rest of her infamous family. This proves that even Sam, as herself, has her limits for individuals who fail her in her day-to-day civilian life.

Samantha as Reign.

Due to her forced mental programming operating on her as Reign, Sam becomes an exaggerated polar opposite of everything she is, while her world killer persona remains inactive in her default state, for the periods and durations wherein Reign remains in control: a brutal vigilante who indiscriminately kills anyone she sees as an evildoer in order to further her goal of ruling the world, and will react expediently cold and silently murderous whenever she comes across the said people or catch knowledge of such. She is cruel, sadistic and ruthless towards anyone who stands in her way. She is also egotistical; even though she doesn't actually see herself as a "god" or a "devil", she sees herself as "truth", "judgment", "death" and an executor of justice. Thus, her eventual dominion is inevitable and this causes her to also view those who say or stand otherwise as obstructing targets to her goal.

as Reign, Sam believes all of her actions are intended to spread justice to all those who deserve it and is not above mocking or taunting those who oppose her whenever Reign has them at her mercy, making it possible to catch her off-guard when she least expects it. She also perceives that humanity has ruined their world and they must all be judged by her without exception. Despite her ruthlessness, she is not above offering prey whom she sees as her equal a chance to stand down, like how she offered Supergirl to do so (threatening to subject the latter "into purgatory" if she chooses to stand in Reign's way) and was perhaps a hint disappointed when the latter refuses and even responded defiantly, making the disguised (and mentally-overridden) Samantha realize that she had to manhandle her fellow Kryptonian for her insolence.

But despite all of her negative drives and overzealous conviction, it would seem that Sam - as Reign - still retains vestiges of her civilian persona in that she has been known to simply leave be or tolerate those whom she is familiar with as Sam, even if they directly oppose her; this was made apparent when she smiled in amusement after Lena, her civilian boss and friend, refused to comply when Reign came to deliver her message to the world via CatCo's broadcast, rather than viewed the human as a standing obstacle to the cleansing that she was trying to effect (and the world killer would have killed her, just for that, on the most recent instructions received from the Fortress of Sanctuary) upon Earth, but went on with her purpose anyway and left Lena unharmed. Additionally, she rapidly took over and went immediately after Morgan Edge upon Sam learning that Edge staged an assault against Lena from days prior, hinting a protective (if not fiercely territorial) side of herself even as Reign.

Though this leniency of sorts oddly did not prevent her from attempting to go after Alex (whom Sam is also reasonably acquainted with) when the latter, J'onn and several of the D.E.O. operatives staged a futile ambush against the world killer - and had to be physically stopped by the Martian himself. Reign would later come close to killing Alex, knocking the latter down then stepping over to place a foot upon Alex's chest (though to be fair, at both confrontations, Alex clearly presented herself as Reign's enemy when she forced green kryptonite around the world killer's neck to bring the masked Sam down during first and then repeatedly fired several ineffective shots, in the second, with her gun at the latter) after telling the agent that she'll take her life then and there - only stopping at the beseech of Julia, who offers to be taken and become Purity completely on the condition that Alex was allowed to live.

The fact that Reign agreed to Julia's terms shows an honorable aspect on the part of the former not obligated to carry out every will of the Fortress of Sanctuary and would also not do anything as drastic as taking another's life without sufficient motive, since retrieving her fellow world killer, Purity, was her primary obligation at that time.

As Reign, Sam speaks in a disguised tone that ends her sentences in a reverberating manner.

Powers and abilities

Currently, Sam doesn't has any superpowers at all since after Reign's death, her DNA became human. However, it is unknown if Sam has permanently lost her powers or if they are simply suppressed.

Former powers

As Reign

Dark magic-empowered Kryptonian physiology: Sam's physiology was altered due to genetic experiments and dark magic from Kryptonian Polytheistic Witches. Normally Sam's capacities are no greater than a normal human of her physical conditioning, However, once charged by the energy of a yellow sun and metabolized into her body, she becomes able to perform a variety of otherworldly feats. Due to her dark magic enhancements, her powers are naturally greater than any normal solar-powered Kryptonian. It is said that she was born from Rao's fire. According to a Kryptonian hologram, Sam as Reign has powers that are more advanced and potent than Supergirl, proven by her decisive victory over the National City protector. It is unknown if she is more powerful than Superman, but it is likely that she is more powerful than him, since she had augmented, much more potent powers, making Sam one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse.

Solar energy absorption: Reign's powers are not dependent on the energy spectrum from the yellow sun, but she can fill her reserves with solar energy, augmenting her abilities, especially her heat vision. It is also possible that she can discharge all of the solar energy in her reserves.

Superhuman senses: All of Reign's senses are heightened to greater than that of a normal human.

Enhanced memory: As a Kryptonian, Reign's memory is greatly enhanced, allowing her to remember specific details of her birth and her creators.

Super stamina: Reign can run or fight for long extended periods of time, and this aspect of her powers stem further than that of Supergirl.

Super jumping/leaping: Sam is able to jump several feet off the ground and leap vast distances through the air, simulating short term flight. This ability is a combination of super strength and flight. Sam is also able to jump very high and generate enough force to smash through windows.

Heat vision: By concentrating every solar energy reserve she has in her body, Sam can emit focused energy beams of variable intensity and temperature from her eyes. Unlike other known Kryptonians, Sam's are bright and searing red; it also appears to be more potent, as with it she was able to kill Livewire, who sacrificed herself to prevent Kara from getting hit instead. Her heat vision can also be used as lasers, instead of burning attacks.

Invulnerability: Sam is essentially invulnerable to all Earthly weapons, with bullets simply ricocheting off her flesh. Her invulnerability is so intense that even when just beginning to manifest her powers, Sam remained oblivious to being shot at Lena's press conference attack, only noticing the lack of injury a while later. While fighting Supergirl, as a fully transformed Reign, though she was repeatedly staggered from all of the former's powerful attacks, she's rather quick to recover and retaliate - emerging with no signs of even being hurt or tired at the end. Sam would later fare the same against J'onn who, despite the Martian's attempt to entrap Sam by miles beneath the Earth by phasing her through the planet's surface, was forced back above ground by the Worldkiller's thrashing movement as J'onn extended his intangibility over to her; and even then, Sam still had enough strength in her to go up against a newly-revived Kara and was only forced to retreat after she got close enough for Supergirl to inject refined Green Kryptonite directly into Sam's deep neck muscle. It was later made evident that her otherworldly resistance to physical harm, like every other enhanced attribute at Sam's disposal, is not dependent on a yellow sun, since she was able withstand a brunt of Livewire's electric-based attacks and even serenely ignored a steadily rising voltage surging across her outstretched arm that the meta-human was directly trying to electrocute her with while Sam was holding Leslie fast by the neck, only finally breaking free from the Worldkillers's grip once the energy that Livewire was amassing reach critical threshold and propelling both of them away to opposite directions. However, Sam's invulnerability as herself seems to be greatly mitigated until her Reign persona takes over, expressing itself only when inflicted with something that would otherwise be borderline detrimental or life-threatening (i.e. gunshot) which explains as to how Alex was able to draw blood from Sam via a syringe.

Self-sustenance: Due to the effects of a yellow sun, Sam's physical needs are greatly reduced or completely removed. It is unknown if a yellow sun's absence voids this aspect of her powers.

Atmospheric adaptivity: While Sam does require oxygen, her physicality allows her to survive while inhaling more harsh forms of it.

Extended longevity: As a Kryptonian, Sam's lifespan is considerably longer than a normal human and likewise ages much slower, and after absorbing Pestilence's powers, she should be able to live for a near-infinite amount of time, almost never aging.

Electrosynthesis: Reign's body creates her own power source, thus her powers are not reliant on the yellow sun.

Kryptonite immunity: Reign has a very high level of resistance to Kryptonite. This was proven when Lena's supercharged Kryptonite was only able to weaken her. Though she is somewhat immune to Kryptonite, supercharged, or very potent forms can weaken her, or possibly even kill her, if she had enough exposure to it. She was even able to attack the Kryptonite from inside her body after she had stabbed in the jugular vein by Supergirl. Though she has a high tolerance to Kryptonite, it can still penetrate her skin.

Temperature and elemental resistance: Sam can resist any temperatures, including heat and cold, as well as elements such as rocks and high levels of electricity, as shown when she was crushed by rubble, burned by Supergirl, and frozen by Lex's mansion defenses. She is also impervious to any other elemental attacks.

Super smell: Although she rarely uses this power, as an enhanced Kryptonian, Reign has the ability to pick up smells that are very far away or very subtle. She can also identify where the smell is coming from.

Super vision: As a Kryptonian, Reign is able to see very far distances, presumably at peak human, or low superhuman levels. She is even able to see clearly in the dark.

Electromagnetic spectrum vision: As a Kryptonian, Reign can see well into most of the electromagnetic spectrum. She can see and identify radio and television signals as well as all other broadcast or transmitted frequencies. Using this ability, she can avoid detection by radar or satellite monitoring methods.

Microscopic vision: Reign has achieved the ability to see extremely small objects down to the atomic level, and magnify objects for her eyes to see.

Telescopic vision: Sam possesses the ability to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. Though limited, the exact extent of the ability is undetermined. In function, it is similar to the zoom lens on a camera.

X-ray vision: Sam has the ability to see through objects; except for lead.

Infrared thermal vision: Sam has the ability to see heat and cold signatures of people and other objects. Reign can also see with better acuity in darkness, and to a degree in total darkness.

Super breath: Sam is able to exhale powerful gusts of air from her mouth which are similar to force winds. She can also cause the temperature of her breath to drop, therefore able to freeze nearly anything. And after Imra telekinetically shielded her husband from Reign's freezing breath, that inadvertently formed an ice dome around the Daxamite, it was seen that the ice she creates in this manner bear enough constitution to resist Mon-El's yellow sun-enhanced repeated strikes when he hopelessly attempted to break out of the solidice-sphere encasing him and keeping him hopelessly in place.

Vocal alteration: As Reign, Sam usually speaks in a condescending reverberating manner, but by using her vocal alteration ability, she can turn her voice back to normal and vice versa. When using this power, the area around her throat glows a bright orange-red color. She first demonstrated this power by using it to trick "Patricia" and "Ruby" into thinking it was her human persona.

Super hearing: Sam has super-sensitive ears that can perfectly pick up sounds from miles away and even through structures. Sam can also make her super hearing selective, and after absorbing Julia's abilities, she immune to loud sounds, and can switch her super hearing on and off.

Super speed: Sam possesses the ability to move at super-sonic speeds, both through flight and on foot. Her speed seems greater than Supergirl's, who despite being fast enough to intercept bullets, failed to evade the vast majority of Sam's assaults, and even repeatedly outmaneuver the latter for the most part of their first battle.

Super reflexes: As Reign, Sam's reflexes are so fast, she can respond to attacks within seconds, much faster than Supergirl can, as she has overpowered the latter in hand-to-hand combat repeatedly.

Accelerated perception: When moving at super speeds, Sam is still able to take in everything going on around her, except much slower.

Super strength: On the day of the revelation of the Girl of Steel statue, after a mysterious attack by Bloodsport, in a moment of desperation to save her daughter, Ruby's life, Sam raised an iron bar with little effort. After her awakening, Sam's full strength was proven to be considerably greater than Supergirl's, capable of feats like nearly overturning something as large as an oil tanker and punching away 31st Century artillery ordnance with apparent ease. While able to block some of Sam's blows, the repeated accumulation of hits that landed soon left Supergirl bleeding heavily and bruised all over, barely able to stand before finally falling into a coma and critical condition. It is unknown if Sam is stronger than Superman.

Shockwave creation: By clapping her hands on stomping her feet with her super strength, she can create massive shockwaves, powerful enough to injure Supergirl. She can also use this to create a thunderclap effect, which generates so much force, it creates a large sound.

Worldkiller link: The Worldkillers appear to have a link with each other using Reign as a nexus point. This is evident as no Worldkillers awoke until Reign did. Julia/Purity does not have children so this did not inhibit the development of her powers like Reign and only woke after Reign did. Along with the other world killers, Sam is able to create a full eclipse on Earth's sun and generate a blue shockwave that was able to incapacitate Supergirl. Once Grace and Julia died their powers transferred to Sam, though Sam was able to apply both the Worldkillers’ powers further than they did respectively.

Sonic scream: After absorbing Julia Freeman's powers, Sam can vocally emit a focused, high frequency sonic scream that is powerful enough to knock a fully grown Kryptonian feet away into a wall. She has advanced with this power so that her scream is powerful enough to make Martian Manhunter bleed profusely out of ears, so much so he needed to be hospitalized.

Sonic inducement/Sound projection: With a slight clench of her hands, Sam, is able to induce vertigo, vibration, and a sonic sound in her immediate vicinity, extending outwards omni-directionally. She has also used this power to create powerful sound shockwaves in conjunction with her scream.

Empathy: After absorbing Julia Freeman's powers, Sam is able to "see" into people, and is able to read peoples personalities, and look deep into their psyches.

Pestilence inducement: After absorbing Grace Parker's power, Sam can spread some kind of contagious virus that can kill any living thing she comes into contact with as seen when dozens of pigeons fell dead from the sky, when people at city hall started having nose bleeds before collapsing and when a plant immediately died upon being touched. According to Mon-El, it is 100% fatal. She has taken this power so far as she does not need complete physical contact with the organism, but just needs to be in the vicinity of it. She was even able to affect plants that were yards away from her.

Retractable claws: After absorbing Grace's power, Sam can grow her nails into yellow claws, sharp and dense enough to pierce Supergirl's invulnerable skin, and presumably any other being. Her claws can also induce pestilence when she grows her nails upon physical contact. Her nails are retractable, and can reform to normal size.

Instantaneous evolution: After absorbing Grace's powers, Sam can "evolve" into more powerful and potent forms of herself, including turning into diseases and creating new ones. She has used this ability to passively evolve her body in order to become more resistant to larger doses of Kryptonite.

Telepathy immunity: Reign can resist psychic attack with ease, but this power falls short against more powerful telepaths such as Psi.

As Samantha

Kryptonian physiology: Normally, like all Kryptonians, Sam's capabilities are no greater than a normal human of her physical conditioning. However, once charged by the energy spectrum of a yellow sun, she is able to perform various inhuman feats. It is unknown if she is just powerful as Superman and Supergirl, but it is very likely as she has been on Earth for 28, later 29 years,10 years less than Superman, one more year than Supergirl has spent under the Earth's yellow sun, making Sam one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse.

Solar energy absorption: While Sam's powers are dependent on the energy spectrum from a yellow sun, her body is able to constantly and passively absorb such energy while exposed to it, essentially keeping her reserves fully charged almost constantly. Direct exposure to the light of a yellow sun will also accelerate her recovery from any injuries she manages to sustain.

Flight: Sam was able to manipulate her own gravitational field to generate thrust and propel herself through the air, often at hyper-sonic speeds, much faster than she can travel by foot. As such, she was able to levitate and fly past Earth's atmosphere and near the planet's orbit.

Self-sustenance: Due to the effects of a yellow sun, Sam's physical needs were greatly reduced or completely removed.

Atmospheric adaption: While Sam does require oxygen, her physicality allowed her to survive while inhaling more harsh forms of it, or even no oxygen at all.

Extended longevity: As a Kryptonian, Sam life span was considerably longer than a normal human and likewise causes her to age much slower.

Super breath: While under the affects of the yellow sun, Sam was able to exhale powerful gusts of air from her mouth which are similar to force winds. She could also cause the temperature of her breath to drop, therefore able to freeze nearly anything.

Super hearing: While under the affects of the yellow sun, Sam had super-sensitive ears that could perfectly pick up sounds from miles away and even through structures.

Super speed: Sam possessed the ability to move at hyper-sonic speeds, both through flight and on foot.

Accelerated perception: Sam could see everything much slower allowing her to move with precision and accuracy within very fast moments.

Super strength: Sam's strength was enhanced under a yellow sun, enough to easily kill a normal human if she were to attack them directly.

Super jumping/leaping: Sam was able to jump several feet off the ground and leap several stories in a single bound without having to fly.

Super stamina: Sam could run, fight or fly for long periods of time, without getting tired.

Super reflexes: Sam's reflexes are so fast, she could respond to attacks within seconds.

X-ray vision: Sam had the ability to see through objects, except for lead.

Abilities

High-level intellect/Great business acumen: Samantha is a very intelligent woman, having excelled in her studies since childhood.[8] She is a proficient businesswoman, her experience and knowledge enabling Lena Luthor to become the acting CEO[11] and later CFO of L-Corp, with Samantha managing the company's financial and major business affairs.[12][13] Long prior to that, Samantha was already working as a Junior VP of another company by the time she first met Lena Luthor.[9]

Intimidation: As Reign, Sam is able to strike fear into the hearts of many humans like Morgan Edge and Thomas Coville, even the highly skilled and courageous top D.E.O. agent, Alex Danvers admitted she was terrified of her despite knowing practically little of the Worldkiller. Even incredibly formidable meta-humans, like Psi and Livewire, would later join that long list of the fearful following Supergirl's defeat at Reign's hand, such that the former felt comfortable laying low in incarceration for her own safety (though ironically enough, it was later seen and confirmed that Psi's psychic powers actually make her a significant threat against the powerful Worldkiller) and the latter grudgingly trying to adapt back into an honest living, lest they be targeted by the Worldkiller, and they both knew she will still come after them sooner or later; unsurprisingly, both empowered women from Earth were more than willing to join in when Supergirl, together with Imra Ardeen, assembled an all-female expedition to Fort Rozz with the aim of collecting intel on how to defeat Reign. Highlighting it all was Supergirl herself, who showed some hints of fearing for her own life after getting into an epic battle with Reign through National City, ultimately being put under the latter's mercy.

Expert hand-to-hand combatant: Though not particularly acrobatic beyond her capacity of self-propelled flight, as Reign, Sam is a very capable unarmed combatant, able to effectively combine her raw might into her battle tactics, she is able to land efficient and devastating blows that very few could defend against. Ultimately, she was able to defeat and severely injure Supergirl, putting her on a coma, who received considerable combat training, able to block and counter many of her fellow Kryptonian's blows while gradually wearing down Supergirl with her vicious strikes, even whilst soaring together with her in midair, until Supergirl was too winded and battered to fight back. Sam can even fight evenly against Supergirl and Mon-El at once using their capes.

Cooking: Samantha is great at cooking, having made delicious homemade meals for herself, Ruby, and her friends.[1][2][11][13]

Weaknesses

Telepathy: As seen on Fort Rozz when in battle with Psi, Samantha, even as Reign, was easily over powered by the latter's psychic powers.

Former weaknesses

Solar energy depletion: Reign has stated her powers come from an unknown source and not from the sun which means she doesn't need the radiation originating from a yellow sun to use her powers, as was evident when she maintained access to them despite traveling near a blue sun — which typically has the same effect as a red sun, robbing normal Kryptonians of their yellow sun-enhanced capabilities.

Split personality: Sam's full powers are not truly available to her own discretion. Apart from her invulnerability, only in moments of extreme stress can she access some of her other powers, and not at full capacity. Once her programming was awakened, as Reign, she has full access to her powers, but becomes completely unaware of it. Her separate persona as the Worldkiller is completely void of all her past memories as Samantha and upon reverting to her normal self, remains completely oblivious to all actions as Reign, apart from some vague memories emerging in dreams. The shift in personality seems to subtly occur, if not fully activate, whenever angered by wrongdoings going on, indicated by a dark expression rising from Sam's face along with her eyes flashing an eerie red, and it would seem that both Reign and Sam are not entirely two separate entities forced into the same body, since the former presumably proceeded to enact the initiating "Mark of the Beast" step of the Kryptonian End of Days using Sam's in-depth knowledge of L-Corp and thus left her mark, the Juru "Low Speech" sigil, on several of the company's property — which made Lena Luthor believe that, once again, Morgan Edge was behind it as only he would hold a grudge that personal enough to deface Lena that intensely without leaving a trace that would implicate him having a hand in it — and was quite comfortable sporting her emblazoned outfit beneath Sam's normal work clothes. Furthermore, Sam's conscience was momentarily forced to resurface after Psi struck Reign with a fear-inductive psionic assault, bringing out Sam's worst fear of losing her daughter that briefly freed her from Reign's control. Additionally, in spite of her tonal voice being distorted to prevent recognition, Reign's speech mannerisms seem to exhibit aspects of Earth's lingo (i.e. her use of "gonna" instead of "going to") due to having spent time alongside humans as Sam. After being exposed to an ancient kryptonian rock Reign separated from Sam and became her own person while still connected to Sam's life force.

Lead: Even with her X-ray vision; Sam cannot see through lead. After being stripped of her kryptonian DNA she no longer has this weakness and ever other weakness that comes with being a kryptonian.

Stunted power development: Due to becoming pregnant with a child before she fully developed through puberty, Sam's natural physiological development was stunted and her powers were not awoken until later than normally expected.[1] After being stripped of her kryptonian DNA she no longer has this weakness and ever other weakness that comes with being a kryptonian.

Kryptonite: Like all Kryptonians, even while empowered, Sam is vulnerable to the exposure of Kryptonite, a radioactive mineral from her home planet Krypton. Depending on the nature of the said Kryptonite, it will cause a different and adverse affect on her. Now Sam has developed immunity to green kryptonite, but it's unknown what other kryptonite variants affect her.After being stripped of her kryptonian DNA she no longer has this weakness and ever other weakness that comes with being a kryptonian.

Red sun energy: Sam is powerless when exposed to the energy of a red sun. However, similar to Green Kryptonite, the said colored energy would appear to have a mitigated effect on her, since she was thrown back but otherwise retained her powers — not to mention most of their intensity — after getting exposed to a red sun grenade lobbed upon her by Alex.After being stripped of her kryptonian DNA she no longer has this weakness and ever other weakness that comes with being a kryptonian.

Selective empowerment: Sam as herself seems to have lesser access to the entirety of her world killer's side than Reign, making the former comparably weaker — only able to exhibit her Kryptonian world killer traits under very specific circumstances, such as getting shot, flattening the bullet that struck her in the process. At other times, however, Sam's durability seemed about as frail as a human's, as seen when she permitted Alex to draw some blood from a vein using the needle of a syringe that successfully pierced through the former's skin. While technically a weakness, this limitation is also what allows Sam to pass as a regular human without inducing suspicion from even those close to her life. After being stripped of her Kryptonian DNA she no longer has this weakness and ever other weakness that comes with being a Kryptonian.

Life force link: After being separated, Sam and Reign possessed a link that connected their life forces to one another; one absorbed the life of the other. Sam used this to defeat Reign.

Equipment

Former equipment

Reign suit: Sam wore a protective black suit as her super-villainess alter-ego, Reign, to hide her identity from her victims.

Sword of Juru: Reign used the sword of Juru in an attempt to complete Earth's terraforming, however later Sam stole the sword from her.

Season 4

Gallery

Promotional images

Supergirl

Season 3

Trivia

When introduced, Samantha is physically 28/29 years old. However, since she was sent away from Krypton as an infant in 1979 and landed on Earth 10 years later (presumably remaining in stasis during that time), Samantha is chronologically 38/39 years old.

As of "Battles Lost and Won", following the defeat of her Reign persona, Samantha no longer has any Kryptonian powers. However, it is unknown if she has permanently lost her powers or if they are simply suppressed, given the fact that these said powers were amplified by dark magic.

Lena Luthor stated that Samantha's DNA is that of a normal human and her Kryptonian DNA is only visible whenever Reign is in control, prior to them being separated.[15][16] Thus, it is likely that Samantha's Kryptonian DNA is suppressed as well.

Behind the scenes

In the DC comics of the New 52 reboot, Reign is a powerful alien and enemy of Supergirl. She is a Worldkiller, an alien embryo genetically modified and grown in a clandestine Kryptonian laboratory. Reign is gifted with superhuman strength, speed, and endurance, as well as being an adept swordswoman and hand-to-hand fighter.